City now seem to have joined the chase, with Le10Sport claiming the France international is in Manchester at the moment for unofficial talks with the club that could anger his current employers.

Dembele impressed with Dortmund last season (Picture: Getty)

It has not been confirmed if Dembele is meeting with City with Dortmund’s permission, but the club’s sporting director Michael Zorc recently insisted they would be ready to take action if any negotiations took place.

‘Ousmane Dembelé has a long-term contract and there are no negotiations,’ Zorc said.

‘He will play for us next season and if (rival clubs) do not contact Dortmund, we could initiate proceedings with FIFA.’

Dembele, 20, is one of Europe’s most exciting young players (Picture: Getty)

Ousmane Dembele 2016/17 stats

Games47Assists18Goals10

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It remains to be seen how concrete City’s approach for Dembele is, with reports suggesting talks are at an early stage as club chiefs give the youngster an idea of the overall project and vision of the club.

It is claimed that Dembele has also been due to dine with manager Guardiola, suggesting there is strong interest in luring him to the Etihad Stadium at some point in the future, even if this summer is not possible.

This could be similar to a rumoured plan by rival suitors Barcelona, with reports last week that the Catalan giants had given up on landing Dembele this summer but want to secure a deal to bring him in for the start of the 2018/19 season.